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December, 2009:

A Customer Service Idea for the Yelp Age

Dec 31st, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
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It’s a tough time to be a business owner, especially one that’s opinionated and fiercely independent. Take Cartel Coffee Lab. A barista raised the hackles of a guy on Yelp.com. He wanted coffee with caramel in it – they don’t have caramel. So he ordered a cappuccino, and the barista allegedly said “Just so you know it’s a REAL Cappuccino [sic].”
That would irritate me, too. The negative Yelp drew the attention of Jason, the owner. This guy truly cares about coffee. He loves doing it right, and he absolutely hates adjuncts. He’s a purist. I respect that. He meticulously ensures that his crew meets his standards.
And most of his staff is as personable as they are skilled. There are a few bitter beans in there, and I’d bet this came from one of them.
It’s good that Jason has his employees’ backs. But I don’t think he should tell a customer in a public online forum:
“If only you actually understood coffee, you might have been able to actually promote better coffee in AZ! You shouldn’t be commenting about coffee since you drink it with caramel anyway. You should probably rethink that life decision!”
For the record, I’ve had many conversations with Jason, and he’s a very likeable guy. And I truly understand how he feels. I love good beverages of all stripe. And when someone who drinks Corona turns a nose up at a SunUp Brewing cask-conditioned IPA, I truly believe Buddha drowns a kitten. But I also realize that people have their [...]

5 Things to Do in 48 Hours – San Diego Edition

Dec 30th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
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There’s no shortage of stuff to do in Southern California. Any visit will keep you occupied. But there’s more to San Diego than a zoo and Sea World. I didn’t get too far off the beaten path on my recent visit, but I dug up a few fun things with a minimum of repetition from previous trips. You can even think about skipping the hotels and just camping in San Diego – for real! Give these options a shot, and you’ll have some genuine fun.
Visit the Port Brewing/Lost Abbey Tasting Room – If you’re used to the mass-produced, watered-down swill that we often call “beer,” the offerings from Port Brewing/Lost Abbey tasting room will set you on the right path. All these beverages pack serious and distinctive tastes. The Port selections are more American-style, with big, hoppy India Pale Ales taking center stage. The Lost Abbey lineup features Belgian-style ales. The best way to get started is with a flight – one flight will set you back $4-$7, depending on the staff’s mood, I guess. Either way, you’ll get a super taste of craft brew goodness. Pick up a shirt while you’re there! Oh, and try the Angel’s Share even if it’s not on tap. It’s nothing less than spectacular. If you’re not already indoctrinated, it will change everything you thought you knew about beer.
Go to the San Diego Wildlife Park – Admission to the San Diego Wildlife Park is $37, which is steep. But it’s also a bit outside [...]

Mixing Coffee and Travel

Dec 28th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
2 comments

I think it’s really fun to find quality microbrews while traveling. I get a chance to try something tasty, and I often get a chance to mingle with locals (in the case of my recent visit to the Lost Abbey/Port Brewing tasting room, I even met a friendly black cat). It’s also not super-hard to find good microbrewers and brew pubs.
For me, it’s way harder to find good coffee shops unless I’m someplace like Portland or Seattle. I was 0 for 2 on cappuccino during my recent visit to San Diego. I won’t name the establishments here … mostly because the second barista really tried hard to produce a good drink. She took her time, and the micro-foam was spot-on. Unfortunately, the coffee itself was way too hot and had a much more bitter edge than I prefer. For the solid effort, I can’t leave her and her establishment hanging out to dry.
If you travel to Arizona, of course, Arizona-coffee.com will not steer you wrong. But I need to start doing better research when I travel. Does anyone out there have any resources for finding great barista people all across the nation?
In Australia, New Zealand and Costa Rica, I’m pretty golden. It’s easy to find great coffee there. From what I understand, AUS and NZ have mandatory barista training that’s pretty extensive. Australia is pretty awesome because it also grows its own beans in Queensland. In New Zealand, it’s impossible to roll into even the smallest town and not find a pretty classy cafe. [...]

Get Through a Corner Faster!

Dec 28th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
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Hey, it’s the pre-New Year’s edition of Mountain Bike Monday! That’s the weekly feature where I drop a great mountain biking tip on you, from gear reviews to technique tips.
To me, the real fun in mountain biking is in the turns. My absolute favorite sort of turn is slight bermed, slightly downhill and a medium radius. I love to enter a turn like this at just a hair below 20 mph, and feel my tires bite into the dirt.
Now, when I see a big, juicy opportunity like this, I use a great steering technique called “countersteering” to get through the corner ever faster, and to really smoosh by bike into the turn. Here’s how you do it – I’ll walk you through step-by-step in a hypothetical sweeping right turn:
1. Just before you enter the turn, put your left (outside) leg at the bottom of the pedal stroke. Put a good chunk of weight on that outside pedal.
2. Point your right (inside) knee into the turn.
3. As you enter the turn, stiffen your right (inside) arm.
4. Hold that position!
5. As you leave the turn, start pedaling.
It’s pretty easy, though kind of counter-intuitive. In fact, there are certain extreme circumstances in which your wheel will be facing the opposite direction of your turn. But give it a try. It works beautifully, and makes fast fun turns even faster – which equals a boatload more fun!
Got a question or suggestion for Mountain Bike Monday? Send it to wandering.justins@gmail.com!

Strangers in My Underwear – My Case Against Valet Parking

Dec 23rd, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
4 comments

For the most part, I keep rants out of my blog. I like to keep it fun. But man, the proliferation of valet parking in my city is really getting to me.
Valet parking has its place. Like in big cities with labyrinthian parking schemes, draconian parking laws and crappy weather. Here in Phoenix, most places have easily accessible parking. And we get 7 inches of rain a year.
For some reason, though, there are some restautants with fairly small lots that are blocking out the majority or all of their parking for valet parking. This saves their patrons from having to walk, from the farthest space, perhaps 100 feet. I’m going to name names here: The Vig, Tommy V’s/Tomaso’s and Havana Cafe are the worst offenders. Each has a lot the size of a postage stamp. The Vig is particularly offensive - its management forces customers to either turn their keys over to a valet attendant or park across the street for the privilege of dining there. It pains me to say anything bad about Tommy V’s because of its great food and excellent staff, so call this a case of tough love.
I’m going to explain the problem for these restaurateurs: Valet parking is, in essence, like handing my underwear to a stranger, having him wear said underwear while I dine, and then tipping someone for their safe return.
I really, really like my car. Everything about it is exactly the way I want it: the mirrors, the tilt of the seat, the radio station, the loose change, the breath [...]

Checking out Marmot’s Mica Rain Jacket

Dec 22nd, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
2 comments

Earlier this year, I was staying at New Zealand’s Skotel. The next day, Sarah and I would take a crack at the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, with a side trip up Mt. Ngauruhoe. Let me tell you, we were on edge with excitement. But we still had a day to kill, so we took a fairly short hike on some of the trails leading out of Whakapapa Village. The day started off quite nice. But wouldn’t you know? Weather near Tongariro National Park can be unpredictable. We got soaked, and spent way too much time with hair dryers trying to get our gear warm and dry again.
Never again, I decided. I pointed myself toward REI when we returned. They have a pretty large selection, and the staff is usually pretty helpful. But really, I’m from Arizona. My area gets about 7 inches of rain a year. I barely even knew what to ask to figure out which rain jacket I needed. I could’ve spent anywhere from $60 to $150 on a rain jacket … I always like to be armed with some information before spending funds of any sort!
I really could have used some help like the video below. This post comes to you courtesy of WebTogs, an online outdoor clothing company.

I rather like the idea of a YouTube demo like this. It’s a tidy explanation of the Marmot Mica jacket’s features. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit this, but it also explains some of the various tabs, buttons and straps that [...]

Arizona Legislators Poised to Gut State Parks

Dec 21st, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
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Arizona banks pretty heavily on tourism to bring some dollars into its economy. So a bill aiming to knock $193 million from the state’s expenses really makes me scratch my head in wonder. And not in the good way. (Check out Jim Small’s blog for a good technical synopsis, a press release from the State Parks department and some points from the State Parks Foundation) The Senate passed the bill, which I’ve seen called HB2001 and S1001, last week.
There’s nothing wrong with saving money. But the bill includes cuts and a cash grab from Arizona’s state park system – a classic case of saving a nickel and losing a dollar. State parks bring tourists and are a great service for residents. According to the Arizona State Parks Foundation, the parks bring in close to $266 million and 2.2 million visitors a year. The state park cuts account for just 5 percent of the overall trimming. Adding insult to the injury, the bill also will slurp $9.2 million from the park’s coffers (from user fees, mostly), in a move euphemistically lableled a “sweep,” into the general fund. See more in veteran journalist Howard Fischer’s article.
Seventy-five state workers stand to lose their jobs. And here’s a partial list of what visitors and residents stand to lose: Kartchner Caverns, Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Slide Rock, Lost Dutchman State Park, Picacho Peak and many others.
It’s unfortunate that many people (both elected officials and online commentors) are trying to turn this into a contest between fiscal conservatives who are just looking [...]

6 Cheap Last-Minute Gifts for Mountain Bikers

Dec 21st, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
1 comment

Welcome to the Holiday Edition of Mountain Bike Monday! Today, I’m giving you 6 ideas for last-minute, affordable holiday gifts for the bikers in your life. Enjoy!
1. New Chain – Okay, so it’s not exciting. But a new chain every 1,000 miles is like an oil change f0r your car every 3,000 miles: cheap insurance. See, if you use your chain too long, it stretches out and wears the cogs and chainrings all funny. And then it’s too late for a new chain to cure your shifting woes – you’ll need to spend all sorts of cash to replace the worn bits. I recommend SRAM chains.
2. Ergon Grips – I love these things, especially the GP-1 model. I consider them the best $30 upgrade I’ve ever made to my bike. They’re head-scratchingly odd at first sight, but one ride will turn just about anyone into a believer.
3. A big box of energy gels – Find out your favorite mountain biker’s energy gel of choice and fill the stocking with it. It’s not long-lasting, but its totally practical. It’s something we use on every long ride, so there’s no way this will get returned to the bike shop like an ugly tie.
4. A bunch of fresh water bottles – Yeah, I know … this also doesn’t sound fun. But every biker makes the mistake of letting water bottles sit with a bit of energy drink in the bottom. Then it gets all funky and turns into a totally grody-to-the-max science project. [...]

$7 Billion Giant The North Face Sues College Kid

Dec 18th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
1 comment

There’s nothing like seeing a teenager with an idea and some can-do attitude trying to put himself through college by earning his money.
Obviously, though, The North Face disagrees with me. That’s why the company has unleashed the legal hounds on Jimmy Winkelmann, 18. He founded The South Butt as a parody of The North Face, which is purportedly worth $7 billion.
“Unfortunately, and inevitably, The North Face’s success attracts opportunists seeking to pirate its famous trademarks for their inferior knockoffs,” The Montreal Gazette quoted from the 84-page lawsuit.
The article has no information about which court the suit is filed in. This apparently started a few months ago with a cease-and-desist letter. The North Face is clearly out-of-touch – The South Butt isn’t making knock-offs, but products absolutely counter to its own. It’s spirited fun, and obviously not meant to confuse the buyer. The South Butt does not in any way appear to be trying to get hard-core ice climbers to grab their t-shirts and fleece for a technical ascent.
I use a lot of products from The North Face. But if it insists on dragging The South Butt to court, that’s the end for me. I am suspending all purchases of products from The North Face until such time as I’ve deemed it to have straightened up and decided to fly right. Heck, The North Face should give young Jimmy a job when he graduates from the University of Missouri Columbia.
What is it with monolithic companies? Do they not realize that they are their own worst enemies, [...]

10 Things I Hate About Yoga

Dec 16th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
4 comments

I took my first yoga class nearly 11 years ago. I found a lot to like about it. I could feel my body snapping back into alignment. It even helped my concentration – at the time, I played a lot of hockey. After a yoga session, I’d strap on the goalie pads and the puck seemed bigger and slower.
On the flip side, I found a lot about yoga that I absolutely can’t stand. An aborted session at At One Yoga in Phoenix (more on that in a future post) really brought this to the forefront of my mind.
1. Sanskrit Chanting – Exactly what is the point of that Sanskrit song that so many yoga classes start out with? I don’t speak Sanskrit, and I’m frankly not there for a “spiritual” experience. And besides, whoever said “chanting” begat “spirituality?” I grew up going to Catholic mass, so I’ve had a bellyful of unneeded verbal repetition. Let’s get to the good stuff!
2. The overly soft, nurturing, gentle yoga teacher voice – Exactly where do some yoga teachers get that overly measured, breathy voice? It sounds ridiculous. And I say that even though one of my favorite teachers uses it. Coming from male teachers makes it even worse – it makes them sound like Mr. Van Driessen from Beavis & Butt-head.

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